link to news story from HeatWorls - re: below
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If you’re worried that you’ll be forced to leave the comfort of your sofa and the warmth of your pyjamas now that Christmas is over, fear not. Celebrity Big Brother is returning to Channel Five from tomorrow – which is the perfect excuse to remain indoors for the next couple of weeks.
One person who’ll be watching the goings on of the celebrity housemates from his living room and rather than from inside the actual BB house is Lee Ryan. The Blue star has apparently been dumped from this show after demanding more than the £175,000 fee that the show’s bosses were offering.
“Lee was all set to go but then he wanted more than £175,000. There was already a pretty high figure for him so the decision was made to call it a day with him and find someone cheaper,” a BB insider has told The Sun. “There's no doubt he'd have been good value but we can't be held to ransom like that.”
What about the Whales!?
There’s no doubt at all that Lee would have indeed been “good value” on the show. As the self-confessed outspoken member of Blue Lee’s had more than his fair-share of foot-in-mouth incidents. Anyone remember his now legendary “what about the whales comment” in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York?
The singer said during an interview, “What about whales? They are ignoring animals that are more important. Animals need saving and that's more important. This New York thing is being blown out of proportion.”
While before last year’s Eurovision song contest he got all philosophical with heat magazine, saying, “I think people and their minds are going to change. I don't think the end of the world is the end of the world. I think there's a spiritual evolution coming. You can feel it.”